Chronicles my ten plus year quest for a positive, personal spirituality, highlighting my experiences connecting with God while commuting on the train to Washington, D.C., with a focus on sharing my divinely inspired guidance on this blog and related social media sites.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

WELCOME TO

Finding God On The Train -

Notes On Enlightenment

Quest For A Positive Personal Spirituality

Hello, my name is George Bryant Cronk (nickname G.) and I welcome you to my blog, FINDING GOD ON THE TRAIN - NOTES ON ENLIGHTENMENT - Quest For A Positive Personal Spirituality, located on this Typepad site at:

This blog, chronicles my ten-year quest for a positive, personal spirituality, one which began with a near-death realization that I had missed the spiritual point of my life, and resulted in a promise to God; if given the opportunity, I would rectify the situation - all culminating in my connecting with God through affirmative prayer and meditation while commuting on the train to Washington, DC.

As my connection with God intensified, I decided to share the details of my spiritual quest, as well as the divinely inspired guidance I had recorded during my daily meditations on the train, culminating in the creation of this Finding God On The Train blog, along with the related facebook and twitter sites listed below.

New Thought Notes For The Day, as my blog posts are titled, have been published and shared across my existing social media sites. You can also easily access the most recent New Thought Notes For The Day by going to the left hand sidebar of the blog under the listing of "Recent Posts," where the most current posts are available. Just click on the one at the top of the list for the most recent post.

Since the blog’s inception in early 2009, over one thousand posts have been published. On the left hand sidebar of the blog is a listing titled "Categories," where archived posts have been categorized for easier reference and selection, enabling readers to scan a number of topic areas.

To read all of the New Thought Notes For The Day published to date, click on the category ALL DAILY POSTS ON ENLIGHTENMENT, similar categories are also listed, if you would like to review all posts featuring Affirmative Thoughts, Meditation Guidance, or Poems. These Categories are added and deleted as needed. If you would prefer to read each post in sequence for a given month, locate the "Archives" sidebar and click on the month you would like to review.

What makes the message of Finding God On The Train so fascinating, to me at least, is the sheer scope and depth of what has been communicated, providing a foundation for a positive spirituality that is so comprehensive, it is certainly worth the investment of time to at least investigate and consider thoroughly. My task in this, has been to put it in some understandable order, connect it with what has been previously said by the great wisdom traditions, and when plausible, connect it with the supportive science and metaphysics of our day.

So, let’s take a moment to step back and explore how another feature of this blog originated. As you can imagine, when I began my spiritual reconnection with God, I had no plans, in my wildest imagination, of publishing a blog or a book about finding God. But as I became more connected with God through meditation and prayer, I received a message to write a book titled, Notes On Enlightenment. I would define my initial reaction as being incredulous, quickly reminding God I was not the person for this mission. Yet, here I am ten years later, nearing the completion of a three book companion series, as you might expect, titled Finding God On The Train – Notes On Enlightenment.

Along with my blog posts, my readers have been supportive, and extremely patient, as I have discovered how to preview my evolving book on this blog. I would write, and when I felt my offering was coherent, send it out as a post, often numerous times, and only when it looked viable, would I create a blog page, publishing my latest draft on the left sidebar of this blog. As I stretched the parameters of even Typepad’s vision of what a blog could do, the technology improved and I was able to preview chapter after chapter.

After seven years, I looked up and realized my offering was over eight hundred pages, and still not finished. I had written a mammoth spiritual tome, too long and too large for anyone to carry, let alone to read.As a result, this “masterwork” is to be traditionally published in three related, progressive, and distinctive chunks beginning in early 2018.

This companion book to the blog, which has been rolling out under the Book Chapter tab on the left hand sidebar, is now being updated to reflect this new editing, while still serving as the foundation for the key concepts of Finding God On The Train, as well as the details of my quest for a positive, personal spirituality.

It is my goal to enable my readers to preview these books on the blog, without charge, before traditional eBook and print publication takes place. Since these books were originally written for blog publication, I am also hoping to be able to have a blog version of the final published three book series available for reading directly on the blog, although on a subscription basis.

At this time, The Crystal Path - Book One of the Finding God On The Train – Notes On Enlightenment Series has already been re-edited and is available for preview on the left hand sidebar under the Book One – Crystal Path Chapters tab. Except for some minor editing, Book One is complete and will be more traditionally published early next year.

The Control Of Consciousness – Book Two of the Finding God On The Train – Notes On Enlightenment Series, which for the most part was previously published on the blog, but is now being re-edited, will provide a more advanced and in-depth focus on actual mind control, mindfulness, and control of consciousness techniques and approaches. When the re-edit of Book Two is complete it will be available for preview on the left hand sidebar of the blog prior to final publishing.

God Consciousness and The Divinity Within – Book Three of the Finding God On The Train – Notes On Enlightenment Series, will survey ancient and modern wisdom traditions, mystical revelations, spiritual practices - along with the leading philosophical, scientific, and theological theories, research, thought, and conjecture that support the concept of a Universal God Consciousness. I will propose my own theory of God Consciousness based on the message I have received on the train, as well as discuss our own, consciousness based, individual connection with this divine.

My years of commuting five plus hours per day, most of it on the Amtrak train to D.C., have provided the basis for this blog and the companion book(s), contributing to the flavor and color of the offering. Although, the physical restrictions resulting from major spinal reconstruction surgery have forced me to retire from my long commutes, my spiritual home will always be on the train. More about this in Book Two.

I have also included a spiritual bookstore on this site in cooperation with Amazon, which provides an opportunity to purchase any of the books referenced on the blog or shown on the right sidebar. Just click on the Spiritual Store tab on the navigation bar.

Feel free to let me know what you think, or share your own spiritual experiences by post or by email at

If you would like to subscribe via email, simply fill in your email in the Subscribe widget on the left hand sidebar. If you would like to tract the blog posts via your web browser, click on Subscribe in the navigation bar. Both will provide you updates of the latest posts and are free.

Please note that positive spirituality is open to all approaches and paths to faith and God, as long as they are held with love: no one is excluded, and more importantly, there is no one path that is considered more valid or feasible than another.So all are welcomed aboard.

WITH LOVE! G.

P.S. To gain a better understanding of what I am trying to accomplish and why, please take a few moments to read the introduction to Book One - The Crystal Path listed under the Book One Chapters tab on the left-hand sidebar of the blog.

It is worth pausing for a moment and restating our original objectives - mine as the author, and yours as the reader. I will start. Based on my actual and on-going quest, I wanted to share my experiences, the message I received, and the path I have pursued in seeking a “positive,” personal spirituality. Most importantly, I wanted to encourage those who felt so inclined, to stretch for a personal connection with God, to listen for God’s guidance, and, hopefully, share this with all of us in the future.

Along the way, I have structured and organized the message of Finding God On The Train; which as I received, I felt urged to convey on the blog and include in the book. En route, hoping to ascertain whether a set of usable spiritual tools, or templates, existed that we all might adapt in order to accelerate and enliven our own efforts; the Crystal Path framework unfolded, finding form as I drafted Chapter Six. In truth, much of the message I received and have communicated in the book, reverberates the guidance and wisdom of the great mystical traditions through the ages. I have worked to lay this out so it is functional and useable in today’s world.

Likewise, reflecting on the compassion and kindness of the tone of the message received on the train, I have felt personally compelled to move the spirituality I present in the book away from the characterization of a harsh, uncaring God, who seems overly concerned with retribution rather than transformation: stepping clearly beyond the painful fixation on sin – original or self-created, evil, and guilt. Along with this, I have attempted to tie-in and validate the positive spiritual message with the latest metaphysical, empirical, and scientific based approaches offered by the current contributions in psychology, physics, biology, philosophy, and theology. In Part Four – God Consciousness And The Divinity Within, I want to present a fuller exploration of these realms, as I offer my own theoretical hypothesis for a more robust and healthier divinity.

As a representative of all the readers who are, have, or will be reading Finding God On The Train – The Book, I sincerely hope you are finding what you need to assist with your own spiritual quest. I realize that my approach - offering this guidance without encouraging readers that this is “the way,” the only way - leads to some personal confusion: basically, how is the reader to approach all of this material; that is, as a guide, as a formal approach, as a dogma or doctrine, or maybe, like a manual. Now, here is where I will add to the confusion, and tell you I believe it is it is all of the above, some of the above, or none of the above, depending on the needs of the particular reader/seeker. The more I read it, the more it reminds me of one of those Sufi tales that can be read on multiple levels. To be honest with you, I am still working to answer this question for myself.

Ok, so let’s get back to work. We have spent considerable time discussing, and preparing for, how we might control the negative aspects of our incredibly expansive consciousness – both spiritual and secular. Before reaching within to grasp the very divinity harnessed within our own souls, I feel compelled to outline and define, in greater depth, the God of my message, a GOD of consciousness rather than matter. To do this, I will need to retrace my steps, providing some additional clarification by recalling a few related blog posts.

OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITIES –

MEDITATION GUIDANCE

NEW THOUGHT NOTE FOR THE DAY

With the writing of Finding God On The Train, I have journeyed through the spiritual landscape offering my personal experience, while working all along to relate it to New Thought and the mystical wisdom studies proffered through the ages. But our next stop, Chapter Twelve is not for the faint of heart, or the occasional sojourner in the spiritual realm. As I have presented in several earlier posts, we are now proposing that within you, me, each of us, even the not so good of us, is our own internal divinity - or soul that reflects our God nature, our potential, and our power. For many, this may be a reasonable proposal, but for others, this may be anathema and blasphemy. I say this in case anyone needs to detrain before it gets any hotter.

As I turn my sights on Chapter Twelve, titled Philosophy, Science, and Spirituality – Converging Perspectives On God Consciousness, I go through a creative process where I open myself up to divine guidance as I dive into all I have ever read, thought, written, or published on the subject. Usually, this immersion process allows for my total consciousness, including - what I am aware of and what I am unaware of - to ruminate, sift for clues, connections, sort of chew on the cud of possibilities, in hope of discovering a new way of viewing or theorizing on what may actually be happening.

I, of course, meditate and pray on the subject in hopes of receiving added guidance, or clarification, on what I have already received. The Meditation Guidance below, reflects a response I recently transcribed, when I asked for help understanding this topic, hoping to reveal a fresh perspective. The guidance opens with what might be considered an excellent approach for pursuing any creative activity, where we are encouraged to stay focused for clues and insights. But again, I am brought back to Heisenberg's Quantum concept of "Potentia" that I discussed in earlier posts, where infinite possibilities exist waiting for the collapsing of conscious focus.

I may not be ready to espouse a new theory regarding internal divinity, but I am coming closer to understanding what our real divine potential may actually be, as it relates to our personal and God consciousness: if, we were amenable, to accepting it and harnessing its power. So I am still looking at the possibilities, open to any clues you might want to offer?

OPEN TO THE POSSIBILITIES

Open yourself to the possibilities that surround you,

be observant at this time for clues, for insights that

will spark your thinking and send you in a creative

direction. Allow this wisdom to move through you,

as you determine the next step.

Don’t be afraid to explore and add your opinions and

directions to the unfolding work. Peer inside deeply

and you may see the connection between action and

tangible creation. Surely, all of this leads to your own

God nature – your own unique divinity and how it

connects to all that exists

Do not underestimate the power of the mind and

this connection as a tool for progress, creation,

forming your vision into a reality. Possibly, all

existence is but a thought in consciousness waiting

to be realized – focused on and brought to life.

Possibly, there are infinite possibilities at each

moment existing in potential, waiting for the

collapsing of conscious focus. Search for the

underpinnings, the order, the method God

uses to create with us – create your own theory

and possibly provide a new insight into cocreation.

NOE G. 1.13.12 7:08 AM

BLENDED AWARENESS –

MEDITATION GUIDANCE

NEW THOUGHT NOTE FOR THE DAY

At the center of much religious thinking, is the concept of God/world dualism, where God is separate, exerting influence on the world through what is known as downward causation. Those who have been reading my book, as it unfolds on the blog, realize that

I follow the view that God, and humankind, are actually intertwined in a co-conspiracy of action and creation, with humankind really the active agent of God on earth - through active living, thus, expanding the potential and depth of creative consciousness.

At the individual human level, I believe our personal consciousness is hardwired with what I refer to as the Divine Mind - our own divine nature or soul, which acts as our creative conduit to connect and cocreate with God or Universal Consciousness.

As noted in the title of the Meditation Guidance below, this Blended Awareness, is sparked by individual intention, as each person creates via their own desires. As the first line of the guidance below reveals, each of us powers and originates this creative process through our own intention. In other words, we spark the desire and team with God in its cocreation, resulting in the appropriate manifested tangible form. Basically, what is being expressed here is, quite possibly, that our interaction with God is conducted via upward causation, rather than downward.

BLENDED AWARENESS

We are powered by our own inception –

the infusion of our intention with God

consciousness - replayed over and over

within our personal consciousness until

it flowers – erupting in a bloom of

creation, expressing the union of our

true God potential.

Consider this thought – as a particle of

God consciousness you hold the key to

universal possibility – potential - merely

by becoming an expression of your God

nature – refusing to allow thoughts of

separation to dissuade you and throw

you off course.

Let every action be a connected action,

enabling your divine nature and your

form existence to walk in unison,

becoming the vibrational harmony

of two consciousness’s being experienced

together.

Push your ego and your operational mind

to cooperate - watch as the magic

begins – igniting your world, and positively

impacting all existence through your song –

the blended voices of two awareness’s

returning to the vibration of one.

NOE G. 7.8. 2011 10:15 AM

______________________________

In truth, I believe that we each have our own personal concept of God, a concept we hold true or viable, and no one has a right to determine or undermine this view. As I have mentioned often throughout this book, there are as many concepts of God as there are souls who believe in and desire to form a personal relationship with God.

History has shown us that the forcing of our God on others only leads to turmoil. I would like to make it clear, I understand that the portrayal of God as a consciousness, for some, is a radical concept, yet it is, in fact, at the very center of the message I have received on the train, and I am called on to convey. Although the traditional concept of God as a living entity in human like form, would fit more traditional theological models, it is this very notion that often keeps many away from conceiving God as a viable force in their lives.

My purpose is not to sway anyone’s belief, but to offer those who may need a fresh perspective of God, an alternative approach. I contend, if we thoroughly understand this Universal God Consciousness concept, we will be able to easily distinguish our personal consciousness, and be on a firmer footing for exploring our own divinity – thus accomplishing the needed soul searching to establish our authentic purposeful life mission.

I would like to expand on this concept of God as consciousness, introduced briefly in both Chapter Six – The Seven Facets Of Crystal Consciousness (the first of three chapters comprising Part Two with its focus on the message of Finding God On The Train); and in Chapter Nine, titled Mind Control – Control Of Consciousness ( the first of three chapters fully outlining Part Three – under the rubric - The Control Of Consciousness) – where our objective is to minimize the impact of the negative aspects of personal consciousness on the world and our lives.

The message, outlined in Chapter Six, pointed us to a “Unified Universal Force,” consisting of the creative energy of all life and matter – a unified force of all universal life and form, connected and made one, through the love of God. This “Unified Universal Force” connects all existence within God, providing a “conscious connection” at the core of all life existing in our universe - from the smallest particle of matter, to the full life of human form – all life that is conscious of existence, exerting its will over the outcome, thus impacting all - the totality - through its individual actions. Based on this “conscious connection:” all matter is connected; aware of its existence; and its impact on and by other matter – which, as a result, enables the communication between all matter. A vibrational connection flows through this connected consciousness - through this universal consciousness. (As I write this, it actually occurs to me that this might be an apt description for what some consider to be the Holy Spirt).

Our focus in Chapter Nine was Mind Control - The Control Of Consciousness, where we explored the personal and the universal mind, while offering a workable definition for individual consciousness as the “the totality of one’s thought, feelings and impressions - conscious mind." We discussed that the spirituality of enlightenment, is all about consciousness - with the individual consciousness, or local mind, connecting and interfacing with a universal consciousness or non-local mind. The message being conveyed is that even a small particle of consciousness, is the total consciousness of God - an essential cell of God consciousness forming and manifesting the world into creation.

Take a few moments and reread the meditation guidance titled Particle of Total Consciousness featured in Chapter Nine, describing this phenomenon as the global connection of all “sentient life,” that is, all life able to perceive and feel things; with local consciousness, our personal mind - which based on this guidance - is actually a subset or layer of this universal consciousness, existing as a part of the whole. Thus supporting Dr. Henry Margenau’s proposal that “each of us is the Universal Mind.”

Also presented in Chapter Nine, a supporting message titled Concentric Circles Of Consciousness, which further expands our understanding of the enhanced connection of our local and nonlocal consciousness, underscoring the importance of building a pathway to God/Universal Mind, thus expanding our capacity to fully cocreate our lives with God: actually manifesting our heaven on earth. Framing this local mind in a positive manner – controlling our local consciousness, allows us to grow and evolve in a creative mode, rather than a destructive mode.

We discussed that the New Thought world, over the past two hundred years, has coined a variety of phrases in an attempt to label this universal consciousness; the best-known terms being Universal Mind, Divine Mind, Infinite Mind, Infinite Intelligence, Creative Mind, and God Consciousness. We also acknowledged that the scientific community, urged on from the research of Quantum Physics, along with the realities of medical science, have begun to address the possibility of a Universal or Nonlocal Mind. As is often the case, my guidance did not stop with the writing of Chapter Nine. I would like to present a few blog posts from the FGOTT archives that add further credence, and perspective, to this universal consciousness focus.

COMBINED BEING –

MEDIATATIION GUIDANCE

NEW THOUGHT NOTE FOR THE DAY

The focus of the message of Finding God OnThe Train, is that we and God interact through a shared consciousness, and as a result, as the note below conveys, it is a “logical” outgrowth of this conceptual framework that we share a combined existence, teamed to make the most of our endeavors and our lives. This, of course, is facilitated, and the benefits of co-existence maximized, when we actually buy-in to this framework.

Likewise, this notion is built on the premise that every living being has an inner divine nature and connection; and even with flat out negation, this divine connection cannot be turned off or severed. Thus, the opportunity for this inner divinity to assist, even the totally lost, with reclaiming their redemption.

We, who believe in combined being, are in a unique position to actually cocreate with God our lives of joy, peace, love, and happiness – heaven on earth. Others, will benefit from God’s close proximity and ability to assist, when plausible.

COMBINED BEING

The lasting partnership of total oneness asks

for only acceptance, a willingness to be one

with the enveloping consciousness of eternal

spirit, open to its flow, its push and pull, of a

complete awareness.

This consciousness incubates, and fosters,

the individually perceived awareness, seen

by most, as distinct and separate. Spirit is

with you as the air you breathe is with you;

dislocation, or separation is untenable,

impossible; yet many conjure a distance

between the created and the creative force

of all.

Understand that Spirit, the infinite awareness,

through the soul, provides the framework for

a lasting partnership of combined being, able

to live and be a united unfolding presence,

open to engender form from well intentioned

thought; to partner in the cocreative wonder

of living, being, becoming.

NOE 10.1.2014 10:00 AM

______________________________

ONE PRESENCE SHARED -

MEDITATION GUIDANCE

NEW THOUGHT NOTE FOR THE DAY

Ye who search of God, of God, pursue.

Ye need not search for God is you, is you!

Why seek ye something that was missing

ne’er? Save you none is, but you are –

where, oh, where?

Jalal ad-Din Rumi (1207-1273)

Poet and Founder of the Mawlawi Sufi Order

The desire to separate humankind from God, and all sentient life for that matter, becomes more difficult as we explore the spiritual concept of God as an expanding consciousness.

Although the quote from an early translation of Rumi above, demonstrates what has been a popular esoteric mystical opinion - we and God are one – the exoteric religious authorities have, for the most part, considered this to be anathema, heretical, often severely punished.

This may be a reason why I usually sit on this type of guidance – note that I recorded this guidance below mid July of 2013 – and have not returned to it, until I rediscovered it this morning, and felt ready to delve into its meaning. Usually, I would rather not offend the sensibilities of those who cannot fathom, or discuss, this close a union of the divine and humankind. Just so happens, Ann, my wife, is firmly in this group.

Yet, in truth, most of my spiritual work has been finding and redefining a less supernatural, more user friendly God - one that might fit within our modern perspective. I believe the note below is proposing just such a conceptual framework.

ONE PRESENCE SHARED

We and God are intertwined.

We and God are intermingled.

A shared consciousness, where our consciousness

exists within the limitless consciousness of God,

stretching the space of all conscious existence –

we and God are one, God within, God without –

together, we and God – the creator of all form

(which exists as an extension of our joint

consciousness) are intertwined.

Form is simply, and totally, a representation

of the creative thought of consciousness, and

as such, has no innate power. Always in matters

of form, we must return to the originator and

the origination of our sense experience –

creative conscious thought.

Let us fully comprehend and grasp this

essential truth of comingled consciousness;

sharing the combined power of truly dual

conscious existence, expanding our

consciousness and revealing the truth of

all existence, one presence shared. Seek

the point of origin in meditation, reflection,

and prayer.

Understand, it is only through our personal

conscious connection with the world of form

that God can impact or interact with or experience

the world of form. As God is a vehicle of our

expanded consciousness, we, you, me all

sentient life is a conduit for God to form

consciousness, for mutual, total, integrated

existence. Each sentient being is a conscious

receptor of and within tangible existence.

(If we do not open ourselves up to this God

connection, God cannot fully enter our world

except through grace).

NOE G. 7.12.2013 10:00 AM

______________________________

I would like to frame this topic, and our discussion, utilizing a somewhat more scientific approach, by formulating a question I believe we must answer objectively, and by so doing, go on to establish a “hypothesis” we will seek to confirm using the best evidence we can gather at this time. First let’s define the word “hypothesis” - as a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation.

Ok, here is my hypothesis:

The existence of a Universal God Consciousness

has a basis in reality, and is supported by the

theoretical and research work of both the scientific

and metaphysical communities - and as a result,

is considered tenable by leading experts in the

study of human consciousness.

To prove the validity of my hypothesis – the existence of a Universal God Consciousness - we will need to travel through time and harness the support of philosophers, scientists and the mystics alike, thus presenting theoretical, experiential, and research support from psychology, physics, biology, philosophy, theology, along with metaphysics – which may enable and allow us, using a Rumi phrase, “to peak beneath the skirt of God.” This is our mission – so where do we start. I will offer what my train guidance has revealed to date, along with the theory I have developed to support my hypothesis, but first, we must understand what human thought, aggregated and categorized as philosophy, science, metaphysics, and the arts, has to say about God consciousness.

THE AXIAL AGE CONVERGENCE

THE AXIAL PERIOD

“an interregnum (an interval or a pause in continuity)

between two ages of great empire, a pause for liberty,

a deep breath bringing the most lucid consciousness.”

Dr. Karl Jaspers

So, human consciousness, much like the God consciousness just proposed, also emerged, appearing to have blended and coalesced, converging to bubble forth and take a quantum leap from its infant survival struggles of the first few newborn millennia, to position itself to prosper, by forging an evolved and vigorous, newly minted philosophy, scientific approach, secular guide for living and being, along with a variety of higher order spiritual practices – uncovering and outlining the human relationship with a more robust God – all manifesting in discrete, and often isolated locations.

Much of this occurred at a unique point in early human history, a spiritual, political, and secular coming of age and awakening that will serve as a conceptual guide going forward, for what has been described as an axis in world history around 500 B.C.E., with the age commencing around 800 B.C.E and thought to end in 200 B.C.E. – when such notables as the ancient Greek Philosophers: Pythagoras, Socrates and his student Plato, the father of Western philosophy - the Indian mystics Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha who established Buddhism, and Mahavira, who founded Jainism, along with others who refined, enhanced, and documented the Vedic practice of Hinduism - Confucius and Laozi (traditional spelling, also Lao -Tzu or Lao-Tse) the founders of secular Confucianism and spiritual Taoism/Daoism, fermented by the Hundred Schools Of Thought in China - Zarathustra (Persian name) or Zoroaster, founder of Zoroastrianism – and the Hebrew Prophets Elijah, the Isaiahs, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel came to view the god of Israel, YAHWEH, as the God who created heaven and earth, shaping the destiny of all people.

These Axial age innovators listed above, albeit a partial list, espoused, debated, and put into practice the very foundation of our current global philosophical, political, scientific, and spiritual systems – along with the beliefs and practices that go with them –- known as the Axial Period, based on a historical paradigm formulated by the German, Existential philosopher, Karl Jaspers (1883 – 1969) in his book The Origin And Goal of History.

This axis would be situated at a point in history which

gave birth to everything which, since then, man has

been able to be, the point most overwhelmingly fruitful

in fashioning humanity… It would seem that this axis

in history is to be found in the period around 500 B.C.,

in the spiritual process that occurred between 800 and

500 B.C...., Man, as we know him, came into being.

Dr. Karl Jaspers, a brilliant scholar who wrote thirty books, evolved from a medical doctor trained in psychiatry and psychology, then turned his sights on the development of a philosophy, focusing on man’s freedom of being in the world: a philosophy independent of science and avoiding becoming a substitute for religious beliefs. Jaspers goes on to describe the Axial Period:

What is new about with this age, in all three areas

of the world (China, India, and The West), is that man

becomes conscious of Being as a whole, of himself

and his limitations. He experiences the terror of the

world and his own powerlessness. He asks radical

questions… He experiences absoluteness in the depths

of selfhood and in the lucidity of transcendence.

Jaspers proposes that all of this took place in the process of conscious refection. Consciousness became once more conscious of itself, thinking became its own object. And in this reflection, were born the fundamental categories within which we think today, along with the beginnings of the world religions, by which we still live by today. Jasper goes on to postulate, that during this period there was a shift – or a turn, as if on an axis – away from more local concerns, or immediate life concerns, towards transcendence: defined as – to go beyond.

Canadian philosopher and sociologist, Charles Taylor, proposes that this “going beyond,” or transcendence, involved a revolution in human thought, primarily about the world; including thinking about the cosmos and the way it works; with the rise of second-order thinking about the ways human beings think about the universe; and a focus on the fate of humanity and its relationship with the cosmos.

Using Jaspers’ own words, let’s turn to the specifics of this revolution in consciousness: the spiritual foundations of humanity were laid simultaneously and independently in China, India, Persia, Judea, and Greece. And these are the foundations upon which humanity still subsists today.

Confucius and Lao-Tse living in China, as all the schools of Chinese philosophy came into being, including those of Mo Ti, Chuang Tse, Lieh Tzu and a host of others;

India produced the Upanishads and Buddha (I would add Jina Vardhamana Mahavira founder of Jainism) - and like China, ran the whole gamut of philosophical possibilities down to materialism, skepticism, and nihilism;

In Iran, the teachings of Zarathustra (the Avestan name for Persian prophet Zoroaster) caught fire, offering a challenging view of the world as a struggle between good and evil;

In Palestine the prophets made their appearance from Elijah by the way of Isaiah, the Second Isaiah, Haggai, and Jeremiah establishing the reign of the one God,YAHWEH and monotheism.

Greece witnessed the appearance of Homer, of philosophers – Parmenides, Heraclitus, and Plato, - of the tragedians, of Thucydides and Archimedes.

Everything applied by these names developed during these centuries almost simultaneously in China, India, and the West.

There are similarities with these Axial Period participants - China, India, and Asia that Jasper points out; including, existing under similar political circumstances; comprised of multiple small states engaged in constant internal and external armed struggles. Likewise, cultures of the Axial Age were often considered Second-generation, being built off of the societies that proceeded them.

But most importantly, for Jaspers, was the similarity in both thought and circumstance of the Axial Age’s main intellectual contributors; the similarities included an engagement in the quest for human meaning, inciting the rise of a new elite class of religious leaders and thinkers in China, India, and Asia, with all three areas “giving birth to, and then, institutionalized, a tradition of travelling scholars, who roamed from city to city to exchange ideas.”

Taoism and Confucianism emerged in China, while in other regions the scholars were often from religious traditions that survived the era but being reformed or reconceived; from an evolving Hinduism the rise of Buddhism and Jainism; in Persia, the coming of Zoroaster’s teachings; in Cannan, from Judaism; and in Greece, from sophism and other classical philosophy.

Let us not miss a salient aspect of the Axial Ages’s effect on Judaism with the advent of monotheism – the concept of one God – YAHWEH – and with it the possibly of its impact on other new theologies and philosophies brewing in other regions, that would, a few centuries later, prepare the way for another religious leader, Jesus, and the birth of Christianity. Jaspers expresses it as

These three regions which, from the beginning of the

ancient civilizations onward, were possessed of a

unique character, brought forth creations during

the millennium before Christ upon which the entire

history of human spirt has rested ever since.

Ok, what caused the Axial period? First, we have these ancient civilizations existing in the fertile river valleys of the Nile, of Mesopotamia, the Indus, and the Hwang-ho. But Jaspers suggests that the mystery of the simultaneous inception of the Axial Period seems to be situated much deeper than cultural, economic, or related social factors. Jaspers believes the these Axial developments were originally independent of one another. “Real communication and stimuli must be ruled out.” (Later, when we discuss Pythagoras (580-500 B.C.E.), the validity of this independence might be at least debated.) Jaspers, in his work The Origin And Goal Of History explores in-depth the possible causes for this phenomenon. For a more detailed and extensive historical discussion of each of the Axial cultures and their comparative pre-axial struggles, I would strongly suggest an excellent book The Great Transformation – The Beginnings Of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong, noted religious historian and award winning author, including most recently her book A History Of God. I will be using Armstrong’s book as a reference going forward, to provide a deeper historical insight into this confluence.

One theory that Jaspers considered viable, was due to the penetration of charioteers and horseman from Central Asia into China, India, and the West, thus introducing the horse, and as the people of these regions became equestrian, thanks to the horse, limiting the vastness of the world, making it more open for exploration and exploitation. Along with the horse, came the chariot and Karen Armstrong would add that these groups focused their chariots on conquests in their own communities; for example, in the Indus Valley chariots were used by bands of warriors who attacked local farms stealing their livestock and constantly disrupting life. In China and Greece the wars would involve city states close to home, leaving these civilizations in constant turmoil

Jaspers goes on to remark - as Axial societies took over the ancient civilizations by conquest, they developed a heroic-tragic consciousness that found expression in the works like the epic History Of The Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens that is still studied today, authored by Thucydides (460 BCE to 400 BCE) – a General known as the father of scientific history – whose writing was made more plausible by his strict standards determining cause and effect without reference to the Gods.

Although, Jaspers argues that “the spiritual movement of the Axial Age, in its simultaneity and sublimity of its content, cannot be accounted for in terms of such migrations and exchanges.” Likewise, “The Axial Period does not represent a universal stage in human evolution, but a singular ramified (form branches or offshoots, spread or branch out) historical process. Jaspers goes on to clarify:

No one can adequately comprehend what occurred

here and became the axis of world history….which

grows more mysterious the more closely we examine it.

Jaspers then admits that this threefold manifestation of the Axial Period is in the nature of a miracle, since no really adequate explanation is possible within the limits of our present knowledge. Then he, somewhat surreptitiously, warns the reader -

It might seem as though I were out to prove direct

intervention on the part of the deity without saying

so openly. By no means.

We will explore this period in greater detail, and I, will let each reader make a personal assessment, as we discuss the legs of the stool supporting my hypothesis of God consciousness I will offer in the next section – that is, Philosophy, Science, and Spirituality.

One possible perspective, a premise I would support, is that through these Axial historical machinations, combined consciousness has kick started spiritual evolution, what the philosopher Eric Voegelin has referred to as “The Great Leap of Being,” constituting a new spiritual awakening and a shift of perception away from the societies collective good, to individual values.

The role of a deity, that is God, in this unique phenomenon is not mine to debate, but I will assert, and I will strongly contend, the combined or universal consciousness of this time provided the shared software or framework needed for the common perspectives, to be not only both singularly, but jointly conceived of, and implemented, in the axial period. Thus, providing, human kind a gateway beyond paganism and towards modern spirituality.